Physician (Staff Anesthesiologist)

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

The Staff Anesthesiologist will participate in all the following:

• Act as a consultant in the management of problems in acute pain and perioperative care, or as a consultant regarding related diagnostic and therapeutic measures in hospital based patient care when requested by medical or surgical staff.
• Be ready during normal working hours to provide care for the immediate diagnosis and treatment of both emergent and non-emergent situations that may occur in the operating room, PACU or other locations within the hospital.
• Be able to be recalled to the hospital within 30 minutes when performing on-call duty after hours to provide necessary care for the diagnosis and treatment of emergencies that may arise.
• Participate in the Anesthesia Service Line staff meetings and review and report Anesthesia Morbidity and Mortality Indicators (AMMI).

In addition, the Staff Anesthesiologist will participate in the following:

• Assure that all anesthesia equipment they will utilize is in appropriate state of readiness and cleaned in accordance with hospital policy and CDC guidelines.
• Prepare drugs properly for use in anesthesia administration and comply with high alert and controlled medication handling policies.
• Conduct in-person, outpatient pre-operative evaluations, including virtual Telehealth evaluations and documenting the evaluations within the VAPSHCS electronic medical record.
• Write pre-operative anesthesia and post-operative anesthesia orders as needed.
• Re-evaluate patients prior to the induction of anesthesia. This may include re-evaluation of neurological, airway, pulmonary and cardiac status.
• Supervise post-operative care of patients in the PACU.
• Be available for anesthesia service requested by other departments.
• Attend in-service and continuing education programs. Assist in in-service educational programs regarding anesthesia care. Complete annual TMS training when assigned.
• Participate in QA/QI activities which will include: (1) Morbidity and Mortality reports submitted to Quality Management; (2) Analysis of data for trends/patters in the quality of anesthesia care; (3) Participate in ongoing evaluation of anesthesia care.
• Assist in resuscitative procedures such as cardiac arrest or respiratory problems as needed throughout VAPSHCS hospital in-patient facilities.
• Assist in the Medical Center's educational program of medical and paramedical personnel in the field of CPR and other problems which may occur and in which the anesthesia personnel are trained.
• Lead an anesthesia care team that may consist of nurse anesthetists, residents and medical trainees in delivering safe procedural care.
• Ensure that anesthesia safety regulations and procedures and infection control policies and procedures are observed.
• As a member of the Acute Pain Service, maintain competencies in regional anesthesia techniques and perform perioperative nerve block procedures where warranted in surgical and hospital based acute pain settings.
• As a member of the Acute Pain Service, act as a pain consultant for inpatients on the acute pain service, and for outpatients in the transitional pain service who may have complex acute on chronic pain management needs in the perioperative period.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are:
  • (1) Those approved by the accrediting bodies for graduate medical education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in the list published for the year the residency, or fellowship if applicable, was completed; OR
  • (2) One year of post medical school training (internship, first year of residency, or transitional year residency) approved by ACGME or AOA followed by two years of post-training independent practice (performing under a full and unrestricted license) in the United States; OR
  • (3) Non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of three years of verified independent practice in the United States (performing under a full and unrestricted license) performing duties related to the position they are applying for (United States fellowships would be creditable towards this requirement), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the Physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.
  • Exceptions:
    • Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.
    • In rare and unusual circumstances, the Facility Director can submit a memo to the VISN Director through the VISN Chief Medical Officer, who may approve requests for reasonable exceptions to the residency training requirement for Physicians whose composite record of experience, accomplishments, performance, and qualifications warrant such action.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Preferred Experience:

• An anesthesiologist with specialized expertise in regional anesthesia and the medical management of patients experiencing acute pain.
• Completion of a fellowship in Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine, which is now accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, is highly desirable.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Degree of Doctor of Medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from an institution whose accreditation was in place for the year in which the course of study was completed. Approved schools are:

1. Schools of medicine accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for the year in which the degree was granted.
2. Schools of osteopathic medicine approved by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) for the year in which the degree was granted.
3. For foreign medical graduates not covered in (1) or (2) above, confirmation must be made that the medical school meets (or met) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) eligibility requirement for year graduated.

NOTE: The Under Secretary of Health or designee in the VHA Central Office may approve the appointment under authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 of a physician graduate of a school of medicine not covered above if the candidate is to be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. The appointment will be made only in exceptional circumstances where the candidate's credentials clearly demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area.